Nocturnal Studies of the Shinigami
by AnimeMazokuProductions
Summary: Watari's experiments lead to an accident in the lab. Broken equipment calls Tatsumi with the sound of money being wasted. Pains in both their heart and unrequited love lead to confessions, and maybe something more? Rated for yaoi, romance, a perverted owl


By The Animeyoukai & The Mangamazoku  
  
Watari was working in his lab as usual, beakers and various lab equipment bubbled and brewed strange chemicals all around him. Unnerving enough that it was a lab on its own, the fact that Watari was currently engrossed in creating a sex-changed potion made that all the worse. Truthfully, all other Shinigami at EmmaCho avoided entering his lab at all costs. The only one who even visited semi-regularly was Tatsumi, and that was to complain about the costs and ask the scientist why he was even paying for his apartment when he didn't even go home most of the time.  
Watari wondered about that himself. Why did he have an apartment aside from his lab? What was the point? He never entertained guests at home; he didn't date. Hell, it had been years since he'd even been with anybody. That point stabbed Watari a bit, reminding him how lonely his existence was and how much he wanted the comfort of somebody just loving him again; someone to be with him.  
These thoughts began to trouble the dear scientist and he attempted to banish them from his mind, enabling him to continue with his work. As he was pouring a test tube full of a blue substance into a berinmeyer flask, his mind traveled back to his previous thoughts.  
Why couldn't HE have someone? Tsuzuki had Hisoka, even though the two of them weren't an offical 'couple' yet. Terazuma and Wakaba had been together for a while now. The one other person that was currently uninvolved was Tatsumi, but his love for money seemed to hold precedence over everything else.  
Watari sighed. 'At least I have 003.' He thought as he smiled at the little owl. The owl hooted and ruffled its feathers.  
"Ahh 003, why can't you be a Shinigami? You understand me." Watari stroked the soft feathers on its tummy and smiled softly. The little brown owl cuddled in close to his neck and fluffed itself, the greatest gesture of affection the small creature could offer its master.  
The scientist continued his work, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose; the red dimple in the skin was the only true testament of how long he had worked without taking a break. The blue liquid before him bubbled and steamed the sides of its beaker as Watari moved it to the test tube clamp so that he could cool it.  
"003, this is going to work this time, I know it will! Look at the vapors rising from the top! .Wait! That's not supposed to happen!"  
Watari's eyes began to water as the chemical vapors crept behind the lenses of his glasses. 'Oh this is not good.' He stepped back very fast, knocking over a rack of flasks he had near the wall. The sound of shattering glass and Watari's curses echoed in the cluttered lab, devoid of all other personnel.  
'Crap, crap, where's the emergency eye wash station??' Watari panicked. In the midst of all the chaos, someone knocked on the door.  
"Watari, it's Tatsumi. I didn't hear you breaking more lab equipment did I?" Watari waved his arm in the air, trying to clear away the smoke.  
"Yeah, hard to see right now Tatsumi-san, just a sec..." Watari yelled and then coughed as more of the vapors went down his throat.  
"Watari! Do you realise the cost of beakers now-a-days!" Tatsumi came storming through the doors with his patent "Wrath of God" glare. However, his anger quickly faded when he found his colleague sprawled on the floor holding his face in his hands, a steaming blue liquid in a puddle dripping onto the linoleum floor from the countertop a few feet away. The emergency vacuum system finally kicked in, sucking the noxious fumes out through the air vents, but the damage to Watari's eyes had already been done.  
The glass from the rack he had knocked over in his panic was also all over the linoleum around him; spats of blood stained his labcoat from where it had come in contact with the cuts on his hands and face.  
"Watari! What happened?!" Tatsumi's usual no-nonsense voice was now holding the edge of concern that he and Hisoka had become so good at so hiding.  
Watari raised his head from his hands to look at Tatsumi, eyes irritated and bloodshot from the vapors, a cut on his cheek causing a small trickle of blood to trace his visage like a single red tear. The dark circles of his eyes now showed and the stress was obvious in his face. Watari had overworked himself to the point of exhaustion again. That always spelled danger in a laboratory. Correction, Watari alone spelled danger in a lab, tired and Watari spelled 'apocalypse'.  
Why had Yutaki Watari, of all his good-for-nothing coworkers, buried himself so deeply in his experiments, so as to pose a danger to himself? After all, he was one of the laziest Shinigami, only surpassed by Tsuzuki.  
'Only slightly upstaged by Tsuzuki also in destruction; and beaten only by Tsuzuki in the cost of keeping him around.' Tatsumi thought with a stressmark. It always went back to Tsuzuki somehow.  
"Hmm... It looks like Watari could definitely use a break from work... Though, that means less work to be done..." Tatsumi looked down at the stressed-out scientist. "I suppose I'll give him a break. He hardly does anything besides work on that sex-change potion, anyway." He held out a hand to Watari, "Get up, you need medical attention in the state you're in."  
"I'll be fine, Tatsumi, as long as I wash out my eyes over there." He pointed to the eye wash station. "Ok..." Tatsumi helped his co-worker to stand up, but as he was standing, Watari leaned into Tatsumi. "Sorry..." he murmured, "I think the chemicals I inhaled have caused me to be a tad light-headed." Now Tatsumi was worried. "Watari are you going to be alright? What did you mix in that flask?" Watari turned his golden eyes to Tatsumi. "I don't remember...If they were the chemicals I thought I had put in...ahhh," the golden haired scientist averted his gazed again. "It's the fluorescence, sorry. The lights hurt my eyes...yes, if they were the chemicals I intended on using, that wouldn't have happened. I must have misread the labels...or mislabled the flasks..."  
Tatsumi steadied his friend at the eyewash station and turned on the valve. Watari quickly dunked his face under the jets of water that sprung forth. Tatsumi took the glasses from Watari's hand, leaving his hands free to hold open his eyelids to the jets.  
While Tatsumi was at it, he grabbed Watari's great mass of golden curls, holding them away from the other man's face. Tatsumi played with one curl lightly, enjoying the softness of his fellow Shinigami's hair.  
  
Watari was very beautiful, even Tatsumi could see that. Beyond all his money-grabbing and true Mizer-dom, Tatsumi did care about his friends and found it harder and harder to not notice one in particular. Well, Watari made that hard regardless...the bills each month were gradually getting higher and higher. Tatsumi frowned at the recollection.  
Watari held his eyelid pulled away from the eye as he continued to flush out the chemicals with the fountain. He was supposed to do this for twenty minutes, that's standard chemistry procedure, but Shinigami only needed to do it for two minutes per eye. Regenerative powers were a wonderful thing to have when you blew things up at least once a day on average. If not for such a gift, and the simple fact that he was already dead, Watari would have probably killed himself by now. Again.  
Once he was done with each eye, he proceeded to wash the blood off of his face. 'I can't believe I messed up this badly again.' Watari thought. 'Hmm... Tatsumi has been nicer than usual...' Watari felt his face turn red and so he splashed it with some more cool water. "Are you alright Watari-san?" Concern leaked into Tatsumi's voice. "Err- hai, hai," Watari said quickly. With one more final quick splash of water to his face, he got up and went to the sink, where he proceeded to remove the remaining shards of glass in his hand with a pair of tweezers located nearby. "Does this happen every time one of your experiments blows up?" "Sometimes. I'm used to getting chemicals in my eyes." Watari laughed weakly. Just then, he realized that he had been working for an awfully long time. When was the last time he had taken vacation leave anyway?  
The last vacation that Watari remembered taking was the company trip to the Hokkaido hotsprings...and the sight of Tatsumi naked. Tatsumi must have assumed at the time that his blushing was from Tsuzuki, who had so willing flashed them both; he had been drunk at the time; they all had. Truthfully, Tsuzuki was pleasant to look at, but the sight of Tatsumi's naked flesh in the hot water of the springs, so close to his own... The mere thought of it caused uncomfortable stirrings in Watari's, ahem, lab- equipment, that were more than a little embarrassing. The godsend (or misfortune) on that vacation had been that Watari's nearsightedness prevented him from getting too good a view, and saved him from ogling the secretary outright.  
Now the scientist was oh-so near the one he lusted after; inches away from that gorgeous body. 'Tatsumi is a great friend, even though he is strict with spending. I wonder, could it be more than friendship? You don't have these strong of feelings for a friend right?' He thought. Each time Tatsumi would come by, it would make Watari smile and lift his spirits.  
Watari's head throbbed, and he knew it was from the chemicals and emotions mixing in his body. His hands began to shake slightly from this, making it difficult for him to take out the glass. "Are you sure you're alright? Your hands are shaking! Let me do it." Tatsumi grabbed the tweezers from Watari's shaking hand. Tatsumi examined the cut hand, looking for remaining glass shards. He found one more left in the palm, which he immediately began to prod at. Watari winced. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" "It's ok." Watari replied, grinning whilst gritting his teeth. Since Tatsumi lacked the dexterity required to remove such a small, embedded object, it took five minutes to take out the remaining glass shard and dispose of it into the hazardous waste receptacle. "All done." Tatsumi said as he put down the tweezers. "Thanks 'tsumi," Watari replied as he adjusted his lab coat. "Well, I guess it's time for me to get back to work ne?" "...... No"  
Watari took a step and then turned around slowly, "No?" "You're taking the rest of the day off to recover." "But I'm fine, Tatsumi! This isn't anything new to me!" Whined 'Tari. "You're completely stressed out and I don't need be Hisoka to know that. I can read it on your face!" Tatsumi sternly said. "It's alright if you want to work a lot, but everyone needs a break some time. Please take the rest of the day off. I insist."  
Watari lowered his gaze to the floor. "But... What about all of the stuff I broke? I'll be wasting money..."  
Tatsumi grabbed the surprised Watari by the arm. "You waste more money by staying here and breaking more things. You're going to have the rest of the day off, even if I have to escort you home. The money doesn't matter for now." Watari's eyes grew as wide as saucers. 'Nothing is above money to Tatsumi... " He knew that Tatsumi was concerned about his well being. "Th-thank you Tatsumi." "Eh, don't get all weepy on me Watari. This damage is still coming out of your paycheck." Tatsumi was still a secretary to the core.  
Watari smiled; that was the Tatsumi he knew. But the concern that was being lavished on him was new. Why was Tatsumi so concerned about Watari's well being? He secretly wished that he was an empath like Hisoka then maybe he would be able to understand the Shadow Master's shrouded heart.  
"Come on Watari, let's get you home." Tatsumi started to lead Watari to the door of the lab. "Just a second Tatsumi, I can't leave that mess to ferment." A remote appeared from the deep recesses of the lab-coat. One press of a button and many small robots came out, cleaning and sterilizing the spill.  
"My money paid for that?!" Tatsumi's eye twitched a little. "They are quite effective in keeping the lab in working order Tatsumi" Watari pushed open the door and he and Tatsumi trudged into the hallway, Tatsumi all the while holding a protective arm against the teetering lab- monkey's shoulder.  
The sakura blossom that bloomed all-year round on the Emmacho's properties sent a rain of pink petals flying all round them like windswept rain, as they took the footpath through the trees to the apartment buildings the employees lived in. The tall, whitewashed buildings showed a mix of Japanese and Western-style architecture; balconies at the back of every building and a private patio for the inhabitants, blocked off by a rice paper screen that lead into the tatami- floored tea room. "These apartments are far too costly for you to abandon yours, Watari." Tatsumi's brow furrowed as his mind turned to life-encompassing currency.  
"Ah, but Tatsumi! My scientific works calls for a lot of my time! What is there without science? It is the reason for everything! Redox, the periodic table, my research. It's my life!" Watari's hands fluttered around his face in a position of idealism that he was prone to taking whenever science came up. Tatsumi smirked. 'It seems like we all have obsessions that consume us...' He thought. Soon Watari began to ramble about the scientific discoveries of humankind, but the words faded as soon as they entered Tatsumi's ears. His eyes were focused on the movements of Watari's mouth and how his lips looked positively delectable. 'Delectable?!' Tatsumi exclaimed in his mind. "No, no, Watari is a friend... Right?" Still, he looked over at the golden haired beauty again, an even more vivid thought arousing his mind and elsewhere. "Well, we're here!" Watari pointed to the apartment on the second floor. There was a balcony with all sorts of potted plants and vines growing in a tangled mess "Ano... I don't remember my plants being this out of control." 'Tari sweat-dropped. Tatsumi sweat-dropped at the plants too. "I hope Mr. Periwinkle is ok.." "Who's Mr. Periwinkle?" Tastumi asked. "He's one of my many pets!" Watari exclaimed as he winked.  
Watari ran up the flight of stairs into the apartment. Not wanting to lose him, Tatsumi followed. Watari fumbled with the keys, but finally got them into the lock and pushed the door open. He was waiting for there to be broken things everywhere, but it was rather decent.  
Watari ran towards the kitchen table, where a pot was sitting with a cactus in it. "Oh! Mr. Periwinkle! You've survived! It must be because of your cactus physique!" Tatsumi sweatdropped.  
'That's Mr. Periwinkle?' He thought. "Oh yeah, Tatsumi-kun! Meet Mr. Periwinkle!" Watari held up the cactus to Tatsumi's face. "Umm... Hello." "Good, I'm glad you got to meet Mr. Periwinkle. Not too many people know him. He gets lonely."  
Watari put down the cactus and then turned to Tatsumi. "Make yourself at home as best as you can. I haven't been home in a long time, so I have to tidy up the place."  
"It's ok, Watari. Your place doesn't look bad. It's rather clean, compared that car wreck Tsuzuki calls his apartment." He shuddered at the thought of Tsuzuki's home. "Thanks," Watari yelled from the kitchen. "Oi, Tatsumi! Are you hungry?"  
"A little bit." Tatsumi said and as the words left his mouth, his stomach growled.  
"I'll make some food for us, Okey-dokey?" Watari's hand reached for the refrigerator's door and pulled it open to reveal a disturbing sight. Everything was moldy, rotten and growing weird parasites or mushrooms. He quickly shut the door. "Ummm... No way."  
Watari looked around the kitchen. There were newspapers from months ago sitting on the table; an old cup of neglected coffee that had long since solidified; a mucky brown chunk at the bottom of the cup. "I'm home... Or am I?" He whispered.  
This was his home, in a sense. This is where his bed was, where his fridge was and such, but he was always at the lab. He would sleep there for days on end, working on experiments, and never came back to this place.  
He slumped to the ground, his head leaning against a counter.  
"Watari, are you alright?" Tatsumi asked gently. He had entered the kitchen when the usually energetic scientist had become strangely quiet. He was soon on the floor next to Watari. His left hand went up and stroked the golden curls that flowed down the side of the cherubic face.  
"It's just... I haven't been home for such a long time. I don't know what it's like anymore... I don't feel like I belong anywhere besides the lab." Watari closed his eyes, fighting back the inevitable tears and slouched against the counter again.  
Tatsumi's right arm wrapped around his shoulder and he pulled him into a somewhat awkward embrace.  
Tears began to form at the corners of Watari's eyes, and soon they flowed down his ageless face. He cuddled into Tatsumi's chest and began to sob.  
"There there. Everything's alright now..." Tatsumi tried to sound slightly more masculine, despite the utter femininity of the sentence. He gave up trying and just held his friend, heartbeat beginning to rise from the proximity of the other's body.  
"I didn't realize you were so stressed, or I would had given you time off... You mean a lot to me 'Tari-kun" Watari's golden gaze looked up into Tatsumi's azure eyes. The secretary brushed the tears off of Watari's cheeks, as they began to dry.  
"Tatsumi?" Watari couldn't believe where he was; on the floor of his apartment in Tatsumi's arms; the feeling in his chest that somebody really did care about him. He was so close to Tatsumi, close enough to feel the traces of his breath on his face; close enough to see those lips he so desperately wanted to taste. It had been so long since Watari had been so near to anybody; felt loved in that special way by anyone.  
"You're not alone Watari. You work very hard and we all see that. I didn't know it was getting to you like this though, if I did. Money isn't the only think I think about all day, Watari." Tatsumi's voice lost a little of its hard edge; tendrils of tenderness creeping in bit by bit.  
"It's not really the work that is getting to me... Not really; I love science. But I've been lonely a lot this past few months, what with seeing Tsuzuki and Bon together. We all know they are in love; Bon has to know the way Tsuzuki feels- he's an empath. It's only time for them, and they are fine with that. Wakaba and Tera-kun, they have their relationship... The exact nature of it leaves me puzzled, but it's there. You have your money. I'm the odd ball out." 'With a bad case of blue-balls.' Watari grimaced, knowing the later result of this encounter.  
"You're not the odd ball Watari. You're not alone; people love you." Tatsumi couldn't find the words to express his emotions. Should he tell Watari? The blond was definitely not picking up his hints, or perhaps he was playing hard to get, attempting to wring a confession from the secretary.  
Watari wiped his drying tears from his cheeks, the small cut already healed, with not even a scar to show its past existence. 'You've made a fool of yourself Yutaka Watari. Sitting here on your own kitchen floor crying like a first year Chemistry major who cracked a test tube. Either confess now or stop this. Are you a Shinigami or a lab rat?!' Watari thought viciously. He was sounding weak even to himself, whilst the object of his affections and cause of a great part of his suffering, was right in front of him. This chance to move forward was fast-fading as Tatsumi got ready to pull Watari to his feet again. If he didn't take it, he would never forgive himself.  
Tatsumi had risen to his feet and reached down to grab Watari's hands to help the blond up. Once on his feet Watari didn't know what to do. He just stood there, holding Tatsumi's hands in his and staring into the shadows of Tatsumi's pupils; the blue irises around them glittering. Everything about Tatsumi showed that range of value; those contrasting dark and lights, warms and cools. That aspect of the other Shinigami finally broke him. 'Now or never' had really come down to Now or Never.  
"Tatsumi... I'm tired of being alone. My lab, you all being my friends and family, is one thing. It is better than my living life was, but to speak frankly, it's not enough anymore. Every day I spend in the lab, maybe the Gushojin pop in, or I have work with you, Tsuzuki and Bon, but...the nights are long... 003 is there, but he doesn't usually talk to me. Well one time but I'm pretty sure it was this one chemical I was working with; very interesting stuff..."  
"One subject, Watari."  
"Yes." Watari blushed. 'Always ruining the moment.' He scolded himself. "The reason I never leave my lab... I don't like coming home to this empty apartment. Tatsumi, what I have now is... you see... I want more than this. . . I'm..." His hair fell forwards and created a curtain around his face.  
Watari removed his glasses, folding them and playing with them between his fingers nervously. Tatsumi waited patiently as Watari appeared to study the floor very carefully. The mass of hair rose again and the face was truly something to behold.  
Pale, delicate skin framed by golden locks; the orange ribbon poking out from the profile increasing the innocence expressed in that face. The large, heavily lashed eyes, golden and shimmering with unshed tears looked back at him, unbarred by the usual glasses; a face so young and so beautiful. Tatsumi's breath was taken away. How many hearts had this man broken during his time on earth was anybody's guess. With such beauty, he walked that razor-fine line between being masculine and feminine.  
"When I died, three people came to my funeral Tatsumi, because nobody cared. Nobody missed me. I didn't have a chance at love... Nothing that the books are written about. But I have to take that chance now... I love you Tatsumi, and I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, but I just...I can't be alone anymore. I love you. You are..." Watari's voice trailed off as more sobs caught in his throat.  
Shocked and truly touched, Tatsumi raised his right hand and held Watari close to him. He buried his face in the mass of hair and smelled that clean sterile lab smell, that Watari had clinging to him. Watari was so unlike other males in the world. He had somehow managed to break social taboos hiding away in his lab. That ability to bleed his soul before another was such a rare trait and the strength in him Tatsumi could not help but admire.  
His scent was so intoxicating; the most wonderful and arousing perfume in the world to Tastumi. He pulled away from Watari's hair, his face now only inches away from that seductive gaze and those tempting lips.  
"There's something I need to confess to you now, Watari..." He paused, looking into that gaze. "I... I love you too." The whisper was barely audible, but still as potent.  
Watari's eyes grew large as the words passed from of Tatsumi's lips. It couldn't be real. In all of his fantasies it had happened, but he had never thought that it could become a reality.  
"I- I want us to be together..." Tatsumi added, his voice wavering a bit. But the serious look in his eyes never changed as he closed in on those last inches between them, pressing his lips onto Watari's. Watari, completely surprised by the kiss, was wide-eyed for a few seconds, but then his mouth opened up and he was kissing Tatsumi back, his tongue sliding against Tatsumi's own in an intimate dance. Watari somewhat shoved Tatsumi to the floor as he crawled on top of him, the fierce kiss never breaking. His tongue became bolder with the heat and he ventured it further into Tatsumi's mouth, enjoying the taste of the other. His hands twisted through Tatsumi's short hair, then frantically searched for the buttons on Tatsumi's shirt, no longer shy, but begging for more flesh to touch; wanting to be closer. Tatsumi broke away from the kiss. "Slow... down... Watari..." He panted. "Sorry Tatsumi... We just admitted our feelings and I'm acting like an animal." Watari blushed, ashamed of how fast he had moved from the emotional aspect to the sexual one. "Has it been that long for you?" Tatsumi asked, his breath still coming short; his eyes wide in amazement at the progression of the situation. "I haven't been with anybody since I first arrived. My old partner and I fooled around, but that ended badly... I didn't love him though. Not like I love you." He embraced Tatsumi, breathing deeply into the exposed skin of Tatsumi's chest.  
"Wouldn't you like to proceed in the bedroom then?" Tatsumi asked with a smile. "We do have the whole afternoon off, remember?"  
"Oh, but be gentle with me." Watari grinned with feigned innocence. Tatsumi responded by lifting Watari up into his arms and standing.  
"Ummm, where is your bedroom?"  
"Second door on the left!" Watari exclaimed in a dream like state, pointing in the general direction.  
Tatsumi carried Watari to the bedroom while the blonde fiddled with more of the buttons on Tatsumi's shirt. He was down to the last button near his partner's waist and was waiting to get to the rest... But Tatsumi had some of his own plans in store.  
'Ho hum, you think you will be seme, not for long.' A tune he had heard Tsuzuki singing a few weeks ago danced through Tatsumi's mind. The fact that it implied Hisoka attempting to take charge didn't connect at the moment though.  
Tatsumi walked down the small hall, passing a periodic table and a poster about genetics hanging on the wall. He finally came upon the second door in the hall way, whereupon he pushed it open with his foot and stepped inside. The room was quite cosy; not too big, not too small, and it was rather neat. Actually, it was virtually spotless. There was a bed, a small arm chair and a bookshelf full of science books; typical accessories for Watari's room.  
"I pictured more of a mess for your bedroom, actually, Watari." Tatsumi mused, looking around at the more or less ordinary-seeming room. He let Watari down to stand next to him.  
"Well... I never really am home to sleep... You should see the cot I use in my lab! I have a few lab coats and shirts lost underneath it, I think." Tatsumi noticed a glimmer of Watari's previous sadness and decided to clear his lover's mind of those lonesome memories. Kissing the scientist's neck Tatsumi began to slide the lab coat from Watari's shoulders and finally letting it fall to the floor and pool around the other Shinigami's feet.  
Tatsumi's shirt was still tucked into his pants, but completely unbuttoned thanks to the eager hands of the other male. His lips were still gently kissing Watari's soft neck; far more tender and loving than the fierce and passionate first kiss on the kitchen floor had been. The shadow master wanted to be proper lovemaking, above all else and not just some roll in the hay. From the earlier conversation, Watari had already received his share of meaningless sex, and wanted something deeper. Tatsumi really wanted Watari to feel loved and that meant slowly at first; more passion later, but always love.  
"Tatsumi..." Watari whispered quietly in his ear, before pulling out his shirt tail. "Let's continue this on my bed please." His eyes held a very flirtatious gleam to them, as he removed Tatsumi's glasses and placed them next to his own on the nightstand.  
"I'm no little virgin girl, Tatsumi.., I am, after all, a full grown Shinigami... And definitely male in origin." A wide, devilish grin caused a chuckle to rise in Tatsumi's throat, followed by a fiery embrace between the two as they collapsed onto the feather mattress. Tatsumi pulled Watari in closer to him, closing the small distance of mere inches between their bodies and planting another kiss on him. Watari responded to Tatsumi's kiss and touches eagerly, tugging on the button down shirt until he was finally able to free it from the secretary's broad shoulders and slide it down Tatsumi's arms and off his body, leaving him hot and bare-chested against the still fully clothed scientist.  
For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other, breathless, quiet light of affection in their expressions. Tatsumi lifted his left arm, his fingertips brushing in a line up and down from the base of Watari's neck to his the tip of his arm and back. "I can't wait..." he said, drawing out the sentence on the tip of his tongue. ".To see these clothes off you."  
His mouth made its way to Watari's soft, angelic lips again as his arms slid around the others waist and eased their way underneath the edge of the edge of the blue turtle neck. He slowly pulled it upward as Watari lifted his arms and wriggled out of it. The turtle neck was tossed randomly up into the air and out of sight.  
Tatsumi's eyes now glittered with the sight of the skintight Lycra tank top that Watari was wearing.  
"You think you can get me naked this easily?" Watari asked playfully while poking Tatsumi's chest.  
"Yes," Tatsumi emphasized. "I can."  
"Oh?" Watari replied as he raised an eyebrow. "We'll see about that."  
"You want to challenge me? You don't know hard and rough until you go through Tsuzuki's paperwork and try to balance the account books accordingly. Or your stack of bills for that matter." Tatsumi heavily emphasized the 'challenge' as he pulled himself on top of Watari, holding his well muscled upper body just above the others chest.  
The two of them began a cross between rolling around and making out. One moment Watari was on top, his golden locks cascading down like a waterfall curtain around him and Tatsumi as they kissed; the next moment and another roll later Tatsumi was on top and was trying to pull off the Lycra tank top as he sucked along Watari's collarbone.  
Thump! Another roll. Watari's tongue explored Tatsumi's chest, tasting the sweet skin and firmness of the muscles there. His tongue flicked Tatsumi's right nipple, feeling it grow firm in his mouth. His teeth grazed it a bit, causing Tatsumi to utter a small yelp.  
Watari's lips curled up into a smile, but then he was once again possessed by Tatsumi, held still by those strong arms that had finally managed to wrestle the tank top from his body. He was now having fun licking long, wet lines around Watari's six-pack.  
Tatsumi became the pleased one for Watari had made several gasps at his ministrations. For a change in tactics, Tatsumi swiftly unbuttoned Watari's pants single-handedly. Watari reached up and his lips worked away, sucking at Tatsumi's neck on the tender flesh; while his hands unbuttoned Tatsumi's own pants and zipped the fly down.  
"Watari... How do you work in that lab all day and have this amazing body hidden under your clothes?" Tatsumi purred against the flesh of Watari's abdomen, warm breath against the wet lines that he had drawn with his tongue caused the scientist to shiver. Tatsumi smiled inwardly, happy that he had such effect on the blond.  
"I worked out during college and before I died... Ahhh." Tatsumi had used the distraction to take the other's nipple into his mouth and gently tease it as he talked and moaned.  
Watari sighed and relaxed completely into the soft bed, the essentially, new and un-used white comforter puffing up like a cloud around his body. Tatsumi took this as an invitation to slide off his love's lower garments, allowing better access to most responsive flesh.  
Watari raised his hips allowing Tatsumi the freedom to do as he pleased. They had removed their shoes upon entering the house, Watari silently thanked the higher powers that was custom, so the pants were off in no time and flying across the room to land where they chose. Two socks soon joined them in their departure from the bodies. Tatsumi sat up, straddling his soon-to-be-lover and gazed amiably at the man who lay beneath him. The only modesty afforded to his love at this point, were the cotton boxer-briefs that clung to his body and thighs in a way that made Tatsumi hate them. He was even starting to hate his own confining clothing.  
"Yes Watari... You most definitely are male..." Watari blushed slightly, the generous material of his pants no longer there to conceal his quickly rising manhood. His blush deepened to a red as Tatsumi began to roll off the scientist's underwear as well.  
"Ano, Tatsumi..." Watari gently slapped Tatsumi's hands out of the way, leaving the shorts taken halfway down his hips, settling in the most provocative manner. The shadow master glared at him, that look that always said in the office, 'What do you mean you need more money.' Now it said that Tatsumi was not pleased with the hold in frivolities. This glare melted away after a second though, the last thing Tatsumi wanted was to spoil the beginnings of this romance in any way.  
"Do you want to stop?" The voice was the way Tatsumi had trained it to be: reserved. Watari laughed inwardly, amused at the barely disguised lust coming from his lover.  
"No, Love, I just want to make you work a little harder for the prize." At that he pulled the Tatsumi down onto his nearly nude flesh and into a deep kiss. Tatsumi responded roughly, not amused by the brief hiatus in activity. His hands found their way to Watari's hips and gripped them tightly as he ground himself rather forcefully into his partner.  
Watari moaned from the movement and kissed Tatsumi deeper, tongues exploring each others' mouths. Tatsumi's hands massaged Tari's scalp and entangling the long fingers in the curls.  
Watari used this opportunity to roll Tatsumi back over and onto his back, pinning him to the bed with his own body, while licking and biting along Tat's neck. Tatsumi allowed it, enjoying the change in pace, as Watari started to slide Tatsumi's own pants off, slowly, teasingly, until Tatsumi finally couldn't take it anymore and kicked them from his legs and off of the bed.  
"Don't be so impatient Tatsumi, you made me take 'the whole day off', remember?" Watari smiled and looked over Tatsumi, and then began to giggle, not able to stop himself.  
"What's so funny?" Tatsumi asked, rather annoyed. Watari tried to keep his mouth shut, his teeth pressed down on his lower lip, holding back the laughter. The sight of Tatsumi just wearing white cotton briefs was classic. Nothing else would have fit the thrifty man's personality, but seeing them in real life was funny to the scientist.  
But...those briefs were rather tight and you could see Tatsumi's manhood straining against them, just like one of those underwear models; if the underwear model happened to have an erection.  
Watari's curiosity won out and he pulled the briefs off and discarded them with the rest of the clothing, happy to find his partner to be as well-endowed as he had hoped. He had a look on his face as though he had received a new present. He looked up and smiled. "I didn't know you were THAT big." "What happened to the 'suspense'?" Tatsumi smirked. "Screw it!" Watari said as he dismissed the statement with his hand. "Or more accurately, please, screw me!" Tatsumi smiled, more than willing to oblige, but his gaze then went above Watari's head to two large eyes that belonged 003, who was perched on the headboard. 003 hooted, causing Tatsumi to cover his front. "Eh? Tatsumi? Getting cold feet?" "No... It's that bird of yours!" Tatsumi exclaimed with embarrassment. He pointed to 003, who hooted again and flapped his wings at finally being noticed. "Awww... I didn't know you were in here 003..." Watari said in the gently patronizing voice he used to talk to the animal. 003 flapped his wings a little more as his eyes turned into McDonalds arches. Tatsumi was silent for a few moments, his face a bright red; a mixture of utter mortification and sheer annoyance. "Ne, what is wrong?" Watari asked, his smile melting away. "...Get it out of the room, please." "Why? He's not hurting us." Tatsumi was at lost for words. "I- I'm...embarrassed..." His face turned even redder than before. "And that bird has a gleam of intelligence in its eyes! It knows what we are doing and is enjoying this! Voyeur! I'm not going to have someone else watch us be together!" "Don't be silly Tatsumi, 003's just a bird! You really are making too much of this." Watari crossed his arms over his chest, still straddling Tatsumi and to Tatsumi's satisfaction, the swelling in his underpants was reaching uncomfortable levels due to the size of such a confined space. Watari was now the one not enjoying the hold in the activities. "Well, I know how I intend to fix this little calamity then, if you are unwilling to shoo away that perverted creature yourself." Tatsumi smirked evilly at the scientist, teasing his fingers around the offending garment encasing Watari's sex; sliding the tips just inside the elastic waist band, tempting Watari and causing both their erections to grow to new, more painful levels of desire. Tatsumi slid his hands all the way under the back of the fabric, cupping his lover's bottom and using his wrists to slide the rest of the boxer-briefs to Watari's thighs; the looser cloth now barely covering his erection.  
Watari's breath was short and nervous; it was all like some surreal fantasy to him. Tatsumi pushed him gently onto his back and slid the undergarment the rest of the way off, and sure as he said he'd get rid of 003, he tossed them at the bird. 003 took the hint, hooting petulantly at Tatsumi, as his glare followed the bird out of the partially ajar door. "Well, that takes care of the voyeur." The annoyed glare softened as he turned his attention back to his koibito, who lay next to him, nude on the cool bedcovers.  
Tatsumi ran a tentative finger over Watari's cream-colored skin, tracing the curves and lines of his muscled stomach; brushing his fingers lower, teasing his love by dancing his fingers inside his thighs, then slowing lowering himself onto him, kissing a light row of kisses on his chest so tenderly and lovingly.  
Tatsumi positioned himself over the scientist as his tongue moved down the smooth, velvet skin. Slowly and playfully, he licked wet lines, as he worked lower and lower.  
"Oh," Watari breathed as Tatsumi flicked his tongue along his shaft. "When did we decide that you were... on t-top?" Tatsumi smiled, his lips curled in a mischievous grin.  
"We didn't," he laughed playfully. He continued his new fascination with Watari's private body; his tongue moving lower to his testes. His mouth opened wider as he took Watari's sac into his mouth, using his tongue to playfully roll the balls in his mouth. Watari moaned and his body reacted to every one of Tatsumi's tongue passes.  
"Oh god..." Watari moaned from the pleasure. Tatsumi smiled and finally pulled away from the second most sensitive area, only to move up to the main course. Watari was long, ready and swollen. Tatsumi's mouth closed over the tip and he worked the length in little by little. This allowed him to tease Watari; for him to be gentle yet not overzealous too.  
Tatsumi worked his tongue along the length of Watari's manhood, causing him to writhe in ecstasy. Tatsumi didn't mind, and took some pride in the gratified reaction coming from his lover, that is, until Watari thrusted his hips unexpectedly causing Tatsumi to choke when his manhood jammed down the secretary's throat without warning.  
"Gah, at least wait for me to get there!" Tatsumi gagged around Watari. The blond looked down at Tatsumi, head propped up on one arm so as to look his lover in the eyes.  
"Sorry... I did mention it had been a while..." A deep blush graced his cheeks. The last thing Watari wanted to do was ruin things just when it was becoming so very. Tatsumi nodded and went back to working, this time adding more suction; deciding against deep-throating his lover, at least this time around. Tatsumi wasn't in the mood to choke to another death in such a compromising position.  
Watari's breaths came shorter and faster as his body tensed; wave after wave of pleasure creating more beads of sweat on his flushed skin, pushing him closer and closer to the edge of that cliff, until finally, with Tatsumi's final slight of tongue-  
"Tat...TATSUMI!" Watari's back arched and swept his mind into sweet oblivion as he climaxed. Tatsumi swallowed the salty, bitter liquid as best he could. Anyone who called such 'nectars' of the body 'sweet', was obviously playing around, but at the same time, Tatsumi was not repulsed. He loved Watari, and like all things when in love, his partner's seed wasn't unpleasant.  
Watari lay panting; eyes closed and hair fanned out around him on the bedspread. His head lolled to the side, face pink from his climax; lips swollen and inviting to Tatsumi, as he licked his lips clean and crawled back from between his partner's legs.  
Watari's arms lifted to embrace his love and pull him down on his body, running his hands up and down Tatsumi's back, massaging the flesh there. Tatsumi kissed Watari on the cheek, turning the scientist's head to face him directly. Watari opened his heavy-lidded eyes and smiled.  
"I love you Tatsumi."  
"I love you too..." And they kissed, lightly. Tatsumi moved to suck on Watari's earlobe lightly, before murmuring in his ear.  
"I need some lotion, unless you have something better to use." With his face next to his lover's and his eyes closed, Tatsumi could still feel the smile Watari had on.  
"There's WD40 in the kitchen, under the sink"  
Tatsumi laughed, "Lotion will do I think, it hasn't been THAT long I hope."  
"Drawer." Watari managed through his own giggles. Tatsumi reached over to the bureau and shuffled around the junk before he felt what he was searching for.  
"Watari, I'm not even going to ask why you have this sitting in your nightstand."  
"We all know the answer anyway." The other Shinigami pulled down Tatsumi for another kiss, while Tatsumi popped the lid on the lotion and coated his fingers generously with the slick substance.  
Watari barely even tensed when he slid one finger into his opening, slowly at first and then moving it around so as to coat the opening with enough lotion to cause as little pain as possible. A second finger followed, stretching the opening wider and wider until, the last and third finger found their way inside, causing Watari to moan with discomfort.  
"Are you okay?" Tatsumi's all-business gaze met Watari's clouded vision.  
"H-hai. Just give me a second." Watari took a deep breath, letting it out slowing and relaxing his inner muscles around Tatsumi's invading digits. Slowing and gently Tatsumi began to stroke that soft flesh at the innermost part of Watari that he could reach. His partner moaned in response and his sex to swell again with a second wind.  
Removing his fingers, the shadow master captured Watari's lips again and deepened a kiss, full of lingered love and passion, moaning as he coated his member with more of the lotion before positioning himself at the mad scientist's entrance.  
"Go on Tatsumi, I want to be as close to you as possible." Watari broke their kiss only long enough to force out the words in a husky voice, simultaneously wrapping his legs around Tatsumi's waist. Not needing to be told anymore than that, Tatsumi entered the other slowly, allowing him the time to adjust to this new presence in his body. For himself, Tatsumi's vision swam as he felt the heat and tightness around him. Like Watari, it had been years and years since he had felt the ability to be so intimate with another. Not since Tsuzuki those decades ago...  
It was Watari that pulled Tatsumi in all the way to the hilt, kissing the other fervently over and over on his face, lips, neck, anywhere the scientist could reach. They set the pace at a slow rhythm, falling naturally into it as if they had always been lovers; partakers in such and intimate and ancient dance.  
Moan upon moan issued from Watari, as the pleasure washed over his body. He looked into Tatsumi's blue eyes, and felt this completeness inside him. Yes, he had what he needed now; somebody to love him, care about him. Deep inside, beneath the heat washing over him as he climbed again to the edge of that cliff, he knew he didn't have to worry about coming home to that empty apartment anymore. And he smiled.  
Tatsumi was off in heaven, as he plunged again and again into that tightness of Watari, his muscles tensing and sweat rising over his skin. The climax was close to him; Tatsumi wanted nothing more than to come and release himself from the brink, but he held out as long as he could, staving off the satisfaction until Watari himself came close. The friction between their bodies brought the other to a fully erected state, leaking pre-cum over their abdomens.  
Watari came with a yell, stronger than before. The clenching of his partner's body around him pulled Tatsumi off the edge of the cliff with him and they both came together, finally lying, one still inside the other, panting on the bedsheet, now dampened with sweat. Sticky seed from Watari's finish was on both of their stomachs and when Tatsumi finally pulled himself out, he reached over to the tissue box next to the lamp and cleaned up the sticky mess they had created together, before pulling Watari and himself under the covers.  
Watari, spent, cuddled close as Tatsumi spooned his lover. Before they drifted off to sleep, Tatsumi's strong arms wrapped protectively around his newfound lover, a thing more precious than money and Tatsumi whispered into Watari's ear.  
"We may have found our love last, Watari, but our love is best." He kissed his brow, wiping the sweat away with the back of his hand, following the other into dreamland. "Does this mean you'll give me more funding from now on?" "No" "I still love you anyway... Scrooge..." A smile graced both of their faces, and sleep claimed them both. 003, watching from its perch on the open door, hooted softly and flew out of the room, leaving the two to sleep in privacy.  
  
~owari  
  
AN: I would like the thank the SpoonyBard (spoonytoon) for the beta reading that made this fic way better than it was before. And I personaly think we did a great job before too. =^._.^= 


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